...the perpetual BBQ threads don't seem to last through the winter, so I'll try it this way...

My wife doesn't like it when things are all smoky, even outside, so she prefers I operate the smoker when she's not around. And she was out of town this weekend. Time for barbecue!

Oh, hell. My barbecuing pad is still snowed under.

I own a snowshovel, and I shall not be denied. Besides, I've been wanting to try my hand at something resembling a Bacon Explosion:

Y'know, there's two racks in the smoker. And there's really no point in running a half-full smoker, right? So I picked up some pork shoulder. Except this was trimmed into "boneless country style ribs". Apparently they don't know what ribs are in the country.

If you want to get in inexpensively to learn if you really want to keep doing it, go for a Brinkman like this. They usually go for $40-$80 new at Home Depot or Lowes. You can get something in a barrel offset for ~$170 at those same places.

Anyway, that's what I did. Now that I know I like it I'm looking to build an Ugly Drum Smoker or buy an offset so I can smoke more meat reliably.

- The fattie was notably better sliced to about 3/8 inch thickness and each slice fried up in a skillet. I also like my bacon crispy, and even finishing this one off on my grill didn't get the outside quite where I wanted it. This will take some experimentation. Lots of it, with any luck.

- While tradition (well, as much as that word can be used) holds that the interior of a Bacon Explosion is made of more bacon and some barbecue sauce, I decided against that-- in part because I wasn't making a thick barbecue sauce, I was in the mood for some Carolina style vinegar this time around. So I filled mine with pepper jack cheese and some baby spinach, just so I could pretend there was some nutritional value to the whole thing.

- The smoker I got, mostly based on Ars recommendation, was a Weber Smoky Mountain. I love it. I got the smaller version, which'll only do about 20 lbs of meat at once. (Only, I say...) It's a little more expensive than some of the options, but then I looked at my wife's 15 year old Weber kettle that she's never covered and just left out in the elements and how good a shape it's still in, and figured that's some quality worth paying for.

I use the relatively cheap Orion Cooker. Some purists may scoff, but I've smoked many crowd-pleasing pork butts and baby back ribs in this thing. For around $125-150 at Home Depot, my experience is that it's an excellent (and fast) way to cook/smoke meat, with no fussing around with temps.

One thing I am considering in terms of smoking hardware, though, is figuring out a way to reverse engineer me electric heat when I want it in my smoker. I'm not interested in anything that's going to make it unsuitable for charcoal, but sometimes being able to run the thing on electric might be a good thing. I'm not sure exactly what my plan is for this, yet, it's mostly just wandering around in my mind as a thought experiment for a modification that'd hopefully delay me buying one of these.

Just tossing out an idea, as I have no knowledge of how well it would work (or maybe make flamey things in a bad way), but would putting a water heater element and thermostat work? I'm sure there are grounding/safety things to work out, and I don't know how well those work out of water, but it's ready made and had thermostatic control.

Originally posted by Jasid:I'm sure it has been asked in other BBQ threads, but since I'm too lazy to search for it:

If I wanted to buy (not rig up out of a tin can and an old sandbox; and not throw woodchips on one side of my grill) a smoker, what model do the experts suggest?

I am no expert, so take this with a grain of salt. I use a Traeger, and I love it, but it runs a little on the spendy side. It's an auto-feed pellet smoker, so there is no charcaol or wood chips invovled, and you can buy an auto temperature regulator, so you aren't undercooking in the winter, when temps are in the single digits (Fahrenheit) or overcooking during the summer when the outdoor temps are in the triple digits.

Originally posted by Arasirsul:Apparently they don't know what ribs are in the country.

I'd normally take offense at this, but last night when .milfox and DragonDazd visited, I looked outside at the snowpocalypse and decided not to fire up the charcoal burner and instead cooked their steaks on a cast iron skillet on the range.

OK, here’s some pics of the Orion in action. This was last summer, bought a big pork butt (15 lbs - $.99/lb on sale at Safeway) and cut it into 3 lb mini-butts.

After rubbing, wrapping, and refrigerating overnight:

Unwrapped, tied, and ready:

Close-up:

For this batch I use some hickory and applewood:

Drip-pan at bottom of Orion. Notice the wood chips around the sides. I normally line the pan with foil to help with clean-up, forgot this time. You don’t really need to add moisture since the meat drips juices onto the wood chips, but I added a bit of Hornsby Apple Cider just as an excuse to open one at 9 AM that day :

Getting the lower rack ready:

A peek down inside:

Close-up:

Ready for ignition. Notice the meat inside the Orion is completely contained – no nasty flavor from the briquettes. 15 lb bag used, mostly on bottom with about 15 briquettes on top to create convection current (at least that’s what Orion says it does):

En fuego!

3 ½ hours later (about 10-15 minutes per 1 lb of meat is the general rule). Notice the nice crusty smoke bark – I was surprised the first time I did these, since I wasn’t expecting it:

Originally posted by Arasirsul:Apparently they don't know what ribs are in the country.

I'd normally take offense at this, but last night when .milfox and DragonDazd visited, I looked outside at the snowpocalypse and decided not to fire up the charcoal burner and instead cooked their steaks on a cast iron skillet on the range.I feel shame.

Sorry, forgot my sarcasm tags. Obviously it's the city folks these things are marketed to who really don't know what a rib was. If "Country Style Ribs" were actually from the country, they might also actually be ribs. And had nothing to do with the intended method of cooking. Heck, my own mother would've baked the durn things.

I suspect "country style ribs" are like "St. Louis style" barbecue. Everywhere else claims they sell a St. Louis style barbecue. A friend of mine moved there, and started asking where to get it, and everyone looked at him funny.

At least the country places I've lived, if you asked 'em for country style ribs they'd look at you funny.

Magnus, how do you slow-cook in that Orion? Add and remove briquettes from the outside? I understand the concept, you're putting fire on the outside of the smoker to heat the air and make the wood inside smoke. I just don't get how you get good slow-burn temperature control with open-air briquettes like that. Seems like you'd have to spend forever babysitting something like a brisket that you want to slow-cook over 14 hours, as opposed to something like a WSM where you just adjust the air flow and when you get it just right it can burn for hours with little or no maintenance.

Magnus, how do you slow-cook in that Orion? Add and remove briquettes from the outside? I understand the concept, you're putting fire on the outside of the smoker to heat the air and make the wood inside smoke. I just don't get how you get good slow-burn temperature control with open-air briquettes like that. Seems like you'd have to spend forever babysitting something like a brisket that you want to slow-cook over 14 hours, as opposed to something like a WSM where you just adjust the air flow and when you get it just right it can burn for hours with little or no maintenance.

It's interesting - the meat is falling-off-the-bone tender using the 10-15 minute per lb rule. I guess between the contained heat/smoke and convection, it speeds up the process. Now, the only thing I have noticed is that I don't get as much a smoke ring, but the meat is very much smoked.

I've done a pack of baby backs (can't remember how many lbs) from Costco in 1 1/2 hours and the meat is pulling away from the ribs very nicely in that time. It's kinda neat: the Orion comes with rib hooks to hold the racks upright and in the center of the chamber so that the heat/smoke is evenly distributed.

So, it definitely isn't "slow cooked", but when it comes to flavor, tenderness, smokiness, etc, it is either very comparable or a close second to traditional bbq, and in just a fraction of the time.

The only thing I've tried that didn't work out was brisket, but it was my fault - brisket in the Orion requires a cup or two of liquid in the pan. I forgot that, plus I cooked it too long, and consequently had dry, unpleasant brisket.

Originally posted by Jasid:I'm sure it has been asked in other BBQ threads, but since I'm too lazy to search for it:

If I wanted to buy (not rig up out of a tin can and an old sandbox; and not throw woodchips on one side of my grill) a smoker, what model do the experts suggest?

Weber Smokey Mountain

Okay, It's leading the pack. I am still, probably, 1-3 months from pulling the trigger.

Any critical accessories?

Meat.

The only accessories I have for my WSM are a rib rack (to help achieve better rib density) and various thermometers. A good dual probe thermometer would really be all you need; there's one that's always recommended but whose name I just can't remember.

Edit:

quote:

Magnus Rex:You don’t really need to add moisture since the meat drips juices onto the wood chips, but I added a bit of Hornsby Apple Cider just as an excuse to open one at 9 AM that day :

A man after my own heart. I BBQ every summer for a large party with a keg of cider; most everything gets a bit added because hell, it's an excuse to refill the mug.

Originally posted by Magnus Rex:I've done a pack of baby backs (can't remember how many lbs) from Costco in 1 1/2 hours and the meat is pulling away from the ribs very nicely in that time. It's kinda neat: the Orion comes with rib hooks to hold the racks upright and in the center of the chamber so that the heat/smoke is evenly distributed.

Magnus, how do you slow-cook in that Orion? Add and remove briquettes from the outside? I understand the concept, you're putting fire on the outside of the smoker to heat the air and make the wood inside smoke. I just don't get how you get good slow-burn temperature control with open-air briquettes like that. Seems like you'd have to spend forever babysitting something like a brisket that you want to slow-cook over 14 hours, as opposed to something like a WSM where you just adjust the air flow and when you get it just right it can burn for hours with little or no maintenance.

It's interesting - the meat is falling-off-the-bone tender using the 10-15 minute per lb rule. I guess between the contained heat/smoke and convection, it speeds up the process. Now, the only thing I have noticed is that I don't get as much a smoke ring, but the meat is very much smoked.

I've done a pack of baby backs (can't remember how many lbs) from Costco in 1 1/2 hours and the meat is pulling away from the ribs very nicely in that time. It's kinda neat: the Orion comes with rib hooks to hold the racks upright and in the center of the chamber so that the heat/smoke is evenly distributed.

So, it definitely isn't "slow cooked", but when it comes to flavor, tenderness, smokiness, etc, it is either very comparable or a close second to traditional bbq, and in just a fraction of the time.

The only thing I've tried that didn't work out was brisket, but it was my fault - brisket in the Orion requires a cup or two of liquid in the pan. I forgot that, plus I cooked it too long, and consequently had dry, unpleasant brisket.

Wow, learn something new every day.

I might have to look into that, the main thing that has kept me from buying a smoker so far is that I just don't have all day to dedicate to making dinner. Pork butts in a couple hours sounds fantastic.

Originally posted by Jehos:I might have to look into that, the main thing that has kept me from buying a smoker so far is that I just don't have all day to dedicate to making dinner. Pork butts in a couple hours sounds fantastic.

The great thing about a good smoker that'll maintain a constant temperature is _you_ don't have to. The smoker does, sure, but you're free to do many other things while it does the long part of it for you.

Originally posted by Jehos:I might have to look into that, the main thing that has kept me from buying a smoker so far is that I just don't have all day to dedicate to making dinner. Pork butts in a couple hours sounds fantastic.

The great thing about a good smoker that'll maintain a constant temperature is _you_ don't have to. The smoker does, sure, but you're free to do many other things while it does the long part of it for you.

No doubt. I would like to try out a regular smoker at some point, but it would need to be a set-and-forget. 8-10 hours of me having to fiddle with something would really start negatively impacting the wife approval factor.

The only accessories I have for my WSM are a rib rack (to help achieve better rib density) and various thermometers. A good dual probe thermometer would really be all you need; there's one that's always recommended but whose name I just can't remember.

Maverick ET-73 is what you're thinking of. It has a probe for the pit, and one for the meat, and a remote readout with high/low temp alarms for the pit and high temp alarm for the meat.. along with a timer etc. It's around $40 I think and WELL worth it.

Originally posted by Jasid:I'm sure it has been asked in other BBQ threads, but since I'm too lazy to search for it:

If I wanted to buy (not rig up out of a tin can and an old sandbox; and not throw woodchips on one side of my grill) a smoker, what model do the experts suggest?

Weber Smokey Mountain

Okay, It's leading the pack. I am still, probably, 1-3 months from pulling the trigger.

Any critical accessories?

Meat.

The only accessories I have for my WSM are a rib rack (to help achieve better rib density) and various thermometers. A good dual probe thermometer would really be all you need; there's one that's always recommended but whose name I just can't remember.

Originally posted by Jehos:I might have to look into that, the main thing that has kept me from buying a smoker so far is that I just don't have all day to dedicate to making dinner. Pork butts in a couple hours sounds fantastic.

The great thing about a good smoker that'll maintain a constant temperature is _you_ don't have to. The smoker does, sure, but you're free to do many other things while it does the long part of it for you.

No doubt. I would like to try out a regular smoker at some point, but it would need to be a set-and-forget. 8-10 hours of me having to fiddle with something would really start negatively impacting the wife approval factor.

Wife approval is always won by the quality of the smoked meats. My wife was skeptical at first, but now she's like one of Pavlov's dogs. All I have to do is say "brisket," and she starts salivating. I must have smoked 60 lbs. of prime rib last summer...